Ending Obstacles
by Trippeh
Summary: As Lily Evans rides through life, friendship and love always helps maintain the balance. Perfection does not exist. Set through Lily's eyes. Sequel to 'Can You Keep a Secret!
1. Four years in the making

**a/n: BEFORE YOU READ THIS, PLEASE READ 'CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET'.** if you have already done so, please ignore this comment.

anyways, i'm baaaaaaaaaaack. not that anyone was waiting anyway.

* * *

It's been five years passed. And I, Lily Annalise Evans, have not been more happier! How old am I? Ah yes, right. I'm now twenty four! Oh yeah! High five! The big two-four! And still going strong! Still looking young. Still... hoping to stay young. Ew.

So, what has been going on for the past five years you ask? Why, tons! I'm glad you asked; I really need someone to tell all this to. I know, I know; I love boasting! It's one of the things that I got from James. Boasting.

About James. We've been going great! Five lovely, solid years! Okay, well, not solid, I mean, what relationship IS?(subtract Constance and Remus from here please) We've had our ups and downs. We've broken up many times. But we've always gotten back together. And you know why? Because we're lobsters. That's that! Lobsters! He's my lobster. Anyway, five years with James as a boyfriend has got to be interesting you might think. And you are quite smart; it really was quite interesting, these past years. For instance, if you're James Potter's girlfriend, you sure do get to meet a lot of people. Apparantly, the Potters are quite well known in the wizarding world; I got to meet even the Minister! Of course, he wasn't exactly what I thought he'd be. In his pictures, Minister Ambrose Cornwall looks so... defiant. He's really a potbellied man with a thin moustache and a raspy voice. Oh well, he was nice anyway. I also met the players for the England quidditch team. I can never place the team name; not that I care anyway. I just paid them a visit to keep up manners and keep James happy.

I've actually been doing a few things with James that aren't in my area of interest. He loves his quidditch games. So far, I've finally gotten the rules straight, what a 'Chaser' is, what the 'Bludger' does and why the 'Snitch' is so important. Every one of those games is filled with noisy wizards, and the occasional witches. I usually drag either Serene or Constance with me to the game; but because their boyfriends don't take as much interest in the game as mine, they get the joy of not having to come. Lucky bitches.

Also, the Potters are pretty rich. Whenever James takes me out, we're always going to these posh places. Now, don't get me wrong or anything; I love posh places. They're clean, they smell nice, and lots of... posh... people are always present. The thing is, unlike James, I did not grow up in such a society. I don't understand why we just can't go out to a regular ice cream shop instead of a high society dessert palace. Sometimes, I just want to yell at him for taking me to such places. But I can't, because that's who he is. Whenever we go out to these nice places, I always have to dress up. Isn't that every girl's dream? To dress up in lovely ball gowns, strapless dresses and silk sequens? Pearls littering their necks, diamonds cascading their earlobes and over the top priced shoes? I do like it OCCASIONALLY. But let's be honest; sometimes, I can't take it anymore.

Okay, enough of my complaining. Being with James isn't all negative. Most of it is positive. I really enjoy being in his presence. He's so good to me. The times that we AREN'T surrounded by rich folk, he actually lets lose. It's as if he's trying to keep up some sort of different character whenever we're in the midsts of rich people. But he's actually himself when we're alone; the way I'd like him to be all the time. Not just when we're alone. Anyway, he's really sweet. For my twenty-first birthday, you know what he got me? "The Complete Book of All Charms"! It's the best book ever! I know it's thick, and it probably heavier than me, but it's got every single charm invented in there! It's awesome! It's like a cooking tool; I use it every single day. Okay, maybe not a cooking tool since I don't cook much, but you get it right? Right.

Enough about James. You wanna know about the others don't you? Well, I'm eager to tell you! Serene and Sirius are... how can I put this... They're going 'typical'. When I say 'typical', I mean that they uh... they're predictable. One minute, they're smitten about each other, the next they're at each other's throats. Oh well. I mean, we all knew what was going to happen. Even they knew themselves. But at the moment, they're going pretty solid. They just had the biggest fight ever. Sirius went out with Peter Pettigrew, and they both got drunk at some muggle bar. And Serene was in there too, with her friends, and they didn't know they were in there together. So when Sirius got drunk, he got seriously drunk (haha, did you catch my pun? Yeah whatever. Shut up). He was caught making out with the bartender girl person by Serene, who had went up to ask for a drink. Peter had tried to stop Serene from attacking Sirius until Sirius finally saw Serene. But since Sirius was drunk, he just laughed it off, and Serene stormed off over to me and Constance, leaving her other friends. It's nice to know that she'd come to us first for any of her serious problems.

Anyway, their fight lasted well over four months. Four months of complete silence from each other. Well, silence on Serene's end. But still. Sirius had tried to make it up to her by buying her these really expensive flowers, jewelery, and... being Sirius, making an ass out of himself in public. She turned down everything. I had asked Sirius if I could have the awesome diamond ear drops, but he just glared at me. Well, you can't blame me for asking - they're were gorgeous! How Serene turned them down simply amazes me!

So after four months, Serene decides it was time for her and Sirius to have the 'talk'. I have no clue what they talked about, but I always thought the 'talk' usually ended in a couple seperating. Apparantly, they patched things up. Now, they're going steady (or trying to) and they're making things work. Hopefully, this time they WILL work.

Constance and Remus on the otherhand, are what you can call the 'perfect pair'. They're so perfect for each other it makes me sick. They're completely devoted to each other, they can finish each other's sentences, and they're so friggin alike! Gosh. They can be the competition for the 'opposites attract' couple. They're so in tune, I sometimes just wanna punch them and tell them to get a life. I mean, since they got together, they've only had two fights. And those two fights were nothing! NOTHING! You know what they fought about? One; what they should have for dinner - chinese or greek. Two; what Butterbeer is made of. Honestly!

Although I seem to be all judgemental on Constance and Remus, deep down inside, I'm a bit jealous. Those two have it all; compatability, cooperation, alikeness, and love. They're so inseperable, it sometimes makes me doubt my own relationship. Will James and I work out? We're hardly alike, we've grown up differently, we're usually bickering at each other for one reason or another. I don't know. Sometimes I'm just worried.

But James and I have taken the first step to cooperation. A year ago, Constance had moved out of our shared flat. I was crying helplessly as I saw my bestfriend leave for a guy! But hey, I survived. I lived by myself, trying to be independant. Constance was there practically everyday, so it was almost like she didn't move out, except she wasn't there at night, her belongings weren't in the house, and the house was half missing with furniture. But anyway, just five months ago, James had asked me to move in with him. I debated on why we shouldn't live at MY house. Of course, I'd much preferred HIS place, but I just wanted to know. He too preferred his own place, as it was much closer to everyone, and a lot bigger. Not to mention, it wasn't in a full muggle community.

So that's what's been up with me. My personal life. Now for events!

Work; James, Sirius, Serene and I have just graduated and become professional aurors. I can't tell you how satisfying it is to know that I'm qualified for any task. It feels even better than being a Healer! Yes, I'm over that whole 'I wanna be a Healer' phase. I passed with a mark higher than Sirius (and boy does that feel GOOD) and two marks below James (that doesn't feel too good). But whatevr. I'm qualified! I can get paid higher!

Constance is now the head writer for the Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly, in the 'fortune telling' columns. Her arithmancy sure paid off. I always thought that she wouldn't get much of a job, but look at her now. She's takling all that gold in. Stupid old witches really fall for her arithmancy bogus, and they keep writing her fan letters. She laughs them all off of course, and tries to reply to all of them with 'arithmancy-like' responses. Remus, who had taken a fondness over muggles, had become a teacher. Yes, a teacher! Apparantly, he loves arithmatics, and biology. Which is quite weird because when I was growing up, I HATED arithmatic. Anyway, he's a muggle teacher. And he loves his job. And it's weird because... all witches and wizards try to avoid the muggles, while he's educating them. Well, who'd have known.

Anyway, it's been great! I know, it's still the rein of Voldemort, but something's happened. He sorta... died down for three years. The Order is still suspicious, and we still have our meetings. But it's a bit creepy, knowing that he's still here but not taking any action. It's as if he's saving it all up for some big finale. I wonder what that is. I hope nothing happens to me.

On a happier tune, Francis and Adrianne Wood have another son! And yes, they named him Oliver too. It's a bit strange, to be naming their new son after their old son. If it were me, I would've chosen another name. But hey - I have no control over their son's name. Anyway, Oliver is two years old, and he's just so precious! He's learning to talk, and he can even say my name! Of course, he called me 'Lee-Lee', but it's the closest he got to any of our names. It's funny how he says the others. 'Jame', 'Remish', 'Sareeng', Con-since', and 'Seeris'. It's cute. I always laugh when he says our names every time we go visit him. And he seems to be taking a liking to James' quidditch set. James gave him the quaffle, and he sat quietly for over an hour just looking at it. Gosh, boys and their sports.

So, here I am, just... louging around James' place - I mean OUR place, sipping on some orange juice. James will be home any minute now; he said that he wanted to go to Diagon Alley for something. I wouldn't know. I don't care.

Oh, he's here!

He walks into the room, clad in muggle summertime wear. It's weird how magic folk always don muggle clothes when they're in their free time. "Hey Lily. Are you ready yet?"

"Yes I am," I reply, putting down my cup of juice in the coffee table. I head for the washroom to check myself, and step out to find him staring at the coffee table. "Is something wrong?"

"Your cup," he says stiffly. What about my cup?

"Okay...?" I ask, giving him an odd look.

"Aren't you going to put it away?"

Honestly! It's just a damn cup!

"It can leave ring stains," he says.

Ring stains my ass. I scowl at him, and grab the cup, bringing it to the kitchen sink, and stamp out. "Happy?"

"Yes."

He smiles at me as my face turns brighter. Opening the door, he steps aside and waits for me to join him.

And out we go.

-

"Are we going home yet?"

It's only been three hours, but I'm already tired. Walking down Diagon Alley - though some might disagree - is REALLY fatigueing! I mean, with the big crowds, the... how can I put this in a nice way, the 'bigger' of the people squishing you over to the barrels of dragon dung fertilizer, it's pretty hectic. Not to mention, I got seperated from James at least five times in the three hours we've been here. So now, James has a tight hold onto my hand as I lag after him, getting hit and bruised by the big crowds.

"No, not yet."

Not yet. Why not! Ugh! It's not that I hate Diagon or anything, infact, I love it! But seriously, of all nights of the week to be here but a Saturday, where most people come out an shop. I check my watch, which tells me it's about half past seven. And what did we accomplish in three hours, you ask me? Well, we travelled to every apothecary, just to buy two sacs of frog liver. What on earth for, I DON'T know. And I don't want to know.

"Are you hungry?" James asks, as he steers me towards a more quiet street with not too big a crowd as the main street.

"I'll eat if you eat," I answer. I'm actually hungry. All I had for lunch was an english muffin. And right now, if I don't sit or eat or drink, I will whither.

"Good! I've got just the place!" he replies, quite pleased with himself.

We're standing in front of a cafe. A cafe. Never has he ever taken me to a cafe. Let alone a cafe in a small street hardly noticed by anyone.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" he asks, pulling my hand. This is so weird... Okay. Deep breaths. It's a cafe! I haven't been to a cafe in ages!

We step into the cafe. But it's not a cafe. It's... a really small, but very elegant restaurant. With candles floating everywhere to light up the place - just like Hogwarts. Small tables of two and the occasional tables of 4 and more sit around. There are couples sitting on the second level, completely melted into each other. That's odd - why aren't they dressed fancy, like how places like this usually make people dress fancy? Hmmm...

"Mr Potter, Miss Evans, may I take your coats please?"

I turn around to see a waiter. He's got some sort of cloth draped over his arm. Is this guy crazy? It's summer! How can we possibly have coats?

"Um, you can take this, please," James says, as he hands over his frog liver and other things he's brought - namely a new Quaffin. Or is it Waffle? Well, the ball he plays with for Quidditch. The big red one? What's it called again? Quaffle! There you go.

"Right this way, sir, miss," the waiter says, after taking our things. He leads us straight up the second floor, and I think we're going to be sitting in one of those fancy booth things. They're really cute! I mean, how can you possibly resist a booth? Hey - where are we going?

The waitor takes us straight onto the balcony, where only one table sits. There are two candles on the table, and a whole row of them floating to the side. The chairs are draped with fine cloths, and wine glasses are waiting for us. Along with big white plates.

"Kyle will be with you when you are ready to order," the waiter tells us, as he turns around and shuts the balcony door to us.

What am I suppossed to do? What IS all this! WHY are we here? I feel a tug of my hand as James takes me to the table, holding out the chair for me. I sit down nervously, looking around the place. This is weird. I don't like weird. James takes a seat in front of me and he has a big smile on his face.

"What's this?" I ask, trying to sound casual, as my eyes still travel around. I can see the glows from Diagon Alley far away, and a sun just setting above us.

"I just thought that after a week of work - a week of full high-paying work - we might celebrate," he answers, still looking at me.

That's... odd. We didn't celebrate like this when we graduated into proffessional aurors.

"Well, I'm hungry, and so are you," he continues, peering out the door for our waiter, Kyle. "Let's order!"

-

"Would you like some champagne?"

Dinner was great! I have never eaten such good food in my life. Not counting my mother's homemade stuff, but it's the best restaurant food ever consumed! And the dessert was just... no words describe it. Oh man...

"Yes please!"

After having our champagne poured, James holds up his glass. I raise my own, waiting for his toast.

"To old ends, and new beginings," he announces, looking at me. He's got a strange face on - somehwere between joy, nervousness, and fear.

"To old ends, and new beginings," I repeat, clinking our glasses together. I take my glass and have a sip, feeling the gas tickle my nose. Damn, that's strong.

I put my glass down, and am about to speak, but James is looking at me, and I hold my words. He's still got that face on. And it's starting to scare me.

"James? Are you feeling okay?" I ask, concern starting to well up. Is he going to attack me or something? I hope not.

"How long have we been together, Lily?" he suddenly asks, popping up from his daze.

"Five years."

"Five years. When I was fifteen, I would've given anything to just spend five minutes with you like this!"

"Um... yes, of course."

"And here we are, nine years since being fifteen."

"Nine years."

"I've never thought that I'd be lucky enough to be sitting here, with the most beautiful person in the world."

"Oh, well, that's not true..."

"Lily, I love you!"

"Well, I love you too."

"I would give you the whole world if I could."

"That's sweet."

Where is this going?

"You are the best person I've ever met, Lily, and you've made me the happiest man ever to touch earth," he says, looking at me unblinkingly. I feel myself heating up, but I can't reply. He's starting to fidget. What the hell is he doing? He's reaching into the pocket... he's pulling something out... OH - MY - GOD!

Okay, not that I didn't see this coming up. I mean, we've been together for five years! It's about time he finally popped the question! And it was kinda obvious, cuz he kept asking me what type of stone I preferred to another. And what colours I like. And if I liked necklaces, bracelets, or rings. So if I knew it was coming, why am I still so freaked out?

He takes the small box in his hand and pops it open to reveal the prettiest ring I've ever seen. It's got a lily on it! With diamond petals, emerald leaves, and a small red stone on either side. This must've cost a fortune.

"Lily," he begins, taking a deep breath. "I already am the happiest person. But there is something that would make me even happier."

I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't relax. I can't speak.

"Will you marry me?"


	2. on being engaged

a/n:okur okurrrrrrrr. i know i said i was back like what - since februray? i apologize. my computer was reimaged and i lost everything. meaning the whole second chapter was rewritten. i couldnt remember what exactly the second chapter was about, but i made it as close as possible. i know it's a bit scrappy... but i promise, it will get better. school's almost done - which means summer. and MAYBE summer school. i think i failed math. but math doesnt matter. i'll continue on with this story now that i have time. all those last minute assignments from school were KILLER. no worries - theyre all handed in. like i said in the first story - i wont abandon this thing. if it takes a hundred years, i'll continue. so please, please, please review. and i'm so sorry for all you readers who wanted this thing to update. surprise - its updating.

on another note... GUESS WHO WON THE LA LIGA CUP! THATS RIGHT. **BARCELONA!** annnnnd new contracts MEANING deco, valdes, eto'o, ronaldinho and whoever WILL BE STAYING FOR LONGER. aheeeeheeeeee.

* * *

Will I marry him!

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh , oh my gosh, OH - MY - FRIKKIN - GOSH.

MARRIED! I have dreamed of this day since... since I was ten. And now, fourteen years later, here I am, having the question popped at me! This is a surprise. Okay, well fine. Not really a surprise, since i DID get a few unsubtle hints from the guy:

'Lily, what kind of stone do you like?' 'Lily, what colours do you prefer?' 'Which looks better, Lily, diamonds or circles?' If you get what I mean.

"Lily?"

"What?"

I'm jolted back to the present. CAN YOU BELIEVE HE ASKED ME TO MARRY HIM! I KNOOOOOOOOOOW!

"Um, is there something you'd like to uh... say?"

Okay, here it is Lily. The spotlight is back on you. Deep breaths, deep breaths.

"I -"

Huh. I don't know.

I seriously don't know.

I know I've been thinking about marriage since forever. I know that I'm twenty-four, the good ripe childbearing ages are soon on end, but I don't know... I mean, James is great - no lie. But... is it really going to last?

"I don't know..." I answer, looking away. I can't look at him. I don't want to see his face.

"What!" James exclaims, completely flabbergasted. "Whaddya mean 'you dont know'?"

"I don't know, James."

'How can you possibly not know!"

"I dunnno..."

"Is it me?"

Is it him? I don't know... I DO want to give it a shot... but, does HE really want to marry me?

"Why do you want to marry me?"

His face is contorted in some sort of confused, fury mess. But then, I see a sudden change of emotion. His face drops and his brows furrow.

"You know, I don't know," he says, stroking his chin.

Okay, hold up there, buddy! Wasn't he the one who asked me to marry HIM? And he doesn't know why he wants to marry ME?

What kind of messed up bull-diddy is this!

I stare at him, with my mouth slightly opened. To say the least, I am shocked. Does this mean he doesn't want to marry me? That he did all this just to get married out of spite? Because he felt sorry for me! Well! NO ONE marries ME out of fricken SPITE.

"Huh. SO you don't know why you want to marry me?" I ask, trying to remain calm. Breathe, kiddo. Breathe.

"Well, not exactly, but - " he starts, but I cut him off.

"Not exactly! Then what is it! You feel sorry for me? You just want to get married because you have nothing better to do? You don't exactly like me, but you'll just settle down!"

"Lily, that's wrong -"

"Wrong! You think I'm wrong! You can't even answer as simple a question as to why you'd want me to marry you!"

"Well, I thought that would be obvious!"

"It's not! You can't even answer something so SIMPLE!"

"Me! You should be talking! You can't even say 'yes'!"

I look at him, my nostrils flared. Standing up, I throw my napkin down and move for the door.

"If you don't know why you want to marry me, James, then don't. I don't want to get myself into anything. I don't want to kid myself into something that's not true. I don't want to marry someone who doesn't know why they want to marry me. AKA you!"

Sotrming out without a second glance, I run to the place where I'm certain I will be loved.

Constance and Remus'.

- - - - - - - -

"He said that?"

I am now currently sitting on a couch sippin some tea, with Constance and Remus on the opposite couch. After informing them on what happened, Constance attained the shocked-I'm-so-there-for-you attitude. And, as always, Remus remained unbothered. Stupid Remus.

"Yes, he did!" I reply, almost spilling my tea. If any of it did spill, I would never hear the end of it from Constance.

"Huh."

Is that all they can really say about my situation? 'Huh'. What is THAT! I look over at the two where they look as happy as can be. Remus is sitting upright at the corner closest to me, with his feet on the coffee table, reading up on the muggle newspaper. Why he reads that is a mystery. Even I don't read muggle news anymore. It's not that interesting. Anyway, how he is able to read the paper is a wonder to me, as Constance is lying on her belly, on the couch, on Remus' legs, with her head on the arm rest. They look so molded into each other. So blended. So in love.

I am so jealous.

"I don't know what's going to happen anymore," I continue, looking towards the both of them for advice. "I mean, are we still together? Are we broken up? And after this, will we ever get married?"

"Well, of course you are!" Constance says, trying to sound cheerful. I hate it when she does that at an uncheerful event. It's so annoying. "I mean, he loves you, that's why he asked you to marry him!"

"So howcome he didn't say that when I asked?"

"Uh... maybe he got... tongue-tied."

"OH, that's a bunch of shit, Constance. We all know perfectly well that James Potter doesn't get tongue-tied."

"That's not particularly true."

My head whips over to Remus, as the last comment was his. I give him a questionable look.

"James does get tongue-tied on some occassions," he replies to my inquiring face, without taking his eyes off his paper.

"And how would you know this?" I ask,raising my eyebrows.

He raises his in return. "I've known him longer than you have, Lily."

"What! No you haven't!"

"Yes, I have."

"No, we met each other at the same time! At Hogwarts, dumbdumb."

At this, he puts his paper down on Constance's back. He looks at me critically. Okay, the man cannot be offended by me calling him a dumbdumb. He's been called much worse by Sirius and James.

"Lily, when did you start speaking to him?" he asks.

Well, that's an easy question. "Since first year," I answer, rolling my eyes. Honestly! For someone as smart as Remus, he can be quite thick sometimes.

"No. I meant properly speak to him."

"I always spoke proper to him!"

"When did you start being his friend?"

"Oh, well, maybe Seventh Year..."

"You were his friend when you became nineteen. I've been his friend since eleven. I know him better than you do."

I give him cuteye. He shrugs.

"All I'm saying is, James isn't as confident as he puts himself to be," Remus continues, picking up his paper again. "It took him much convincing from Sirius to make him ask you out during Fifth Year."

Constance looks up at this comment. "You mean to tell us that James was persued to ask out Lily?"

"Yes."

"But he always seemed so... pompous about it. "

"He's actually a really shy person."

A shy person! James Potter, a shy person!

Hahahahahahaha, eeeeeeeeeeeyeahhhhhhhh.

"Well, that sure is something," Constance says, with a pondering look about her. "Anyway, the real question is, Lily, why don't YOU want to marry him?"

WHAAAAAAAT! WHERE DID SHE GET THAT IDEA!

"I did not say I didn't want to marry him!" I say with dignity. Well, I never.

"But you said you didn't know!"

"'I don't know' isn't the same as 'I don't want to'."

"It's as good as, and you know it."

"No -"

"So why did you say it?"

"I - !"

Well, isn't she something.

"Look, Lily, James loves you," Remus inputs, as I am silenced by Constance. "You can't put all the blame on him. In my opinion. it's more your fault than his."

My fault? MY fault!

"No it's not!" I argue, slamming the mug of tea on the coffee table. While Constance looks distressed and quickly rushes to the table, Remus seems unmoved.

"If a guy asks you to marry him, then it means he genuinely loves you. You don't ask him why he wants to marry you - men don't talk much of their feelings. "

"I can vouch for that," Constance butts in, after making extra sure that I did not crack her precious table. She points a finger at Remus. "This one doesn't say much."

"Yeah well, he could have at least said SOMETHING, y'know what I mean?" I say, moodily shifting my weight on the couch.

"James is like that, Lily," Remus says gently, thought still reading. "He's just not the type to express -"

He was cut off as there was a loud banging noise from the kitchen. I jumped off the couch as Constance emmitted a shriek, though Remus, dead as usual, did nothing.

"Remus, go see what it is!" hisses Constance, as she takes out her wand, hiding behind Remus' armrest.

"No need," he replies offhandedly, and he gives his paper a shake to straighten it out.

"But what if it's some burglar or something - "

"Constance, there are no burglars here. They can't just bang out of nowhere."

"Yes, they can - "

"No, they can't, now would you just sit and calm down?"

"I'm telling you, Remus, there's a burglar - "

"She's fucking UNBELIEVEABLE!"

We all turn our heads to the living room entrance, and find what caused the bang; James had come in.

"Yes?" Remus asks, putting his paper down to look at his friend.

"Lily! She's gone mental - " James starts, but his eyes suddenly land on me and he shuts up.

That's right. No one goes talking crap about me behind my back!

"I've gone mental, have I, James?" I say, trying to sound polite, rocking on my feet.

He glares at me. "Yes, you have. I've just stated it."

"Oh, why thank you."

"Oh, you're very welcome."

"Indeed."

"Indeed."

Stupid son of a gun.

The both of us stand there, glaring daggers at each other, while Constance, still behind the armrest, stands up awkwardly.

Remus, however, looks at the both of us with raised eyebrows. 'How about we all have a nice little chat in the kitchen?"

"No," I reply bluntly, though I'm not alone. It seems that James is agreeing with me. Maybe he's not so dense after all.

Remus looks at the both of us as if angered. "You come into my house to complain about each other. And now that both of you are here, complain TO each other."

"No!"

"MY HOUSE MY RULES, NOW IN THE FUCKING KITCHEN!"

As we dare not disobey such wrath, seeing as Remus is quite scary once angered, we all march slowly into the kitchen. I grab a chair and put it against the kitchen wall, as far away from the table as possible, while the other three sit at together near the table. I wasn't complaining. I was just... ranting. Ranting isn't complaining. Is it? No, it's not.

"Now," Remus says, regaining his usual calm composure. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," James and I say in unison, catching each other's eye and glancing away.

"It's not nothing," Constance says tentively, as she had just gotten up and is currently bustling around to make more tea. "You were suppossed to get married."

"Suppossed to," James echos her, playing with his fingers. "But hey - it wasn't my fault."

"It SO was!" I yell, stamping my foot on the ground hard. Constance shoots me an evil look and I'm silenced. Stupid Constance.

"Okay,' she says. "You went out for dinner, James proposed, Lily got cold feet and didn't know, then asked James why he wanted to marry her, and he couldn't answer."

"Yes."

"And nothing's wrong with that?"

"No."

"Oh, alright then. Get out of my house."

I look at Constance as though she had suddenly gone wrong. She never kicks people out of the house, no matter how much they piss her off. So wy now? Why me?

"Excuse me?" I say, peering at her closely.

She shrugs and says, "Get out."

"Um... why?"

"Because! You both said there was nothing wrong with anything! So if nothing's wrong and there's no problem, why are you here? Get out. Remus and I were having a nice reading time until you showed."

"Well, I'm not going. Make James go. I was here first."

"What does THAT have to do with anything?" James asks in an angry tone, rolling his eyes. "You're always blaming other people for your own faults Lily. Stop being so self centred"

Self centred! I'm not self centred!

"You shouldn't be talking, James, as you're more self centred than I am!" I argue back, now standing. No one calls me self centred.

"Oh really? How? Explain to me why you say such a thing."

"Because!"

"Because what?"

"I don't know!"

"I didn't think so."

"WIll you two just SHUT UP!"

We all look around at Remus, who stood up with us - James had stood up some time during the short conversation. "If you're going to argue, at least argue about the main problem, not your petty little issues that can be solved with a therapist."

"What's a therapist?" Constance inquires, looking thoughtfully at Remus.

"Never you mind," he says, a bit annoyed at everything. "Look, Lily. I'm going to say this for the LAST TIME. James wants to marry you. He loves you. He was even afraid you'd say no."

"And how would you know?" I shoot back at him, crossing my arms and tapping my foot.

"Because I helped him pick out your ring."

"What does that have to do with it?"

"Because he wasn't even sure if he would propose to you."

"Oh, golly! That sure makes me feel ALL better!"

"Will you just stop being so bitchy and listen up for a bit!" Remus suddenly says, looking at me with a mixture of astonishment, pity, anger and annoyance.

"FINE!"

"Good! James was scared you'd say no. He wasn't even sure if you would even like to be married to him!"

"And why would he think that?"

"Because you're difficult."

"WHAT! I'm not difficult!"

"You're being difficult right NOW."

"Psh, whatever."

"Anyway, he kept asking me for advice on propsing, and then he asked me to go to the Jeweler with him. He wanted to make the ring as nice as possible. I'm guessing you did not see the ring."

Well, that;s true. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't even glance at the ring. But I won't tell him that.

"Yes, I saw the ring."

"Then what was it like?"

"Ummmmm... a... heart?"

"No, you didn't look at the ring."

I look at my feet as for some reason, I feel ashamed. Maybe it was a pretty cool ring.

"This is what it looks like," James suddenly says, holding out an open box. I walk closely and peer at it.

No wonder he's pissed at me. That is the most gorgeous ring I've ever seen. It's an actual shape of a lily, with clear petal shaped cuts, two diamond green leaf pieces, and a thin delicate diamond stem. That must have cost soooooooo much. Man, if I were him, I would be mad at me right now. I'm surprised he's not any worse. I'd have slapped me silly.

Without a warning, James pops the box shut with one fluid snap, sticks his hands inside his pockets and retreats back to his seat. "It doesn't matter anyway."

"He made extra visits just to get it in the correct shape. The guy was a bit annoyed," Remus puts in, making me feel even worse.

"Well," I say, trying hard not to waver, " You could have at least told me why you wanted to marry me when I asked."

"And you could have said 'yes', when I asked."

"Well, I was insecure!"

"Why would you even FEEL insecure! If a person asks you to marry them, it means that they want to spend their life with you! If I didn't ask you, you should start feeling insecure."

I'm about to say something, but a hissing sound is heard. I look over at Remus who is clutching his side, while I can see Constance's elbow stuck out, with a bit of an angry face.

"I hope you heard what he said," she says quitely to Remus. Looking back up at us, she smiles again. "Oh, please continue."

"I don't know," I say, fed up with all of this. It's not getting nowhere! What am I suppossed to do?

Everyone sits quietly in their seats. Remus is still holding his side, making small wincing noises. Constance looks composed, but still glaring at Remus once in a while. James is slouched in his chair, drumming his fingers on the table. And I'm on the other side, staring at everyone else.

"Well, I guess I'll just go home now," James says tentively, as he starts getting up from his chair.

"Now come ON!" Constance suddenly says stopping James and looking at us both. "Why can't you two ever just settle with things? Gosh, sometimes, you're even worse than Sirius and Serene!"

James gives the half shrug as I cross my arms.

She looks at James. "Just suck it up and ask her to marry you! Try again - it's not that hard is it?"

I feel satisfied, thinking that Constance has taken my side, but then she looks over at me. "And YOU! Stop being so caught up with yourself and say yes! I know you want to."

She glares at us both and sits down, crossing her legs with a smug look upon her. I am SO not caught up with myself.

"It's really up to you, Lily," James mutters, looking at me unsure of what to do. I give him a shrug, which earns me a shrug. "You wanna get married?"

I uncross my arms and look at him. "Sure, why not."

"I really do love you. I hope you know that."

"I know."

"Here."

He throws the ring at me, and I catch it. Putting it on my finger, I have a sudden feeling of euphoria. I know, it's a weird way of geing engaged, but hey -

I'M GETTING MARRIED BABY!


End file.
